| Proceed from the village square,
turning north-east along Main Street to the Balavil Hotel. Turn left and
then right and follow Church Terrace till you reach the large building
on the corner of Clune Terrace. Turn left up the hill to the phone box
and turn right. After crossing the cattle grid go to the left through
the iron gate. This path takes you up to Craggan where you will meet the
Wildcat Trail. A left turn would take you to the Craggan viewpoint. Turn
right to take you past the remains of a hut circle and follow the signs
though the new plantings of Stone wood. A plinth is sited here giving
information about the stone circles that are the foundations of
primitive buildings, dating from Pictish times. They consisted of a low
wall of stones with wooden poles forming a conical roof with an opening
for smoke to escape. There were no windows but the door was large enough
to let in light and faced to the south east to avoid the prevailing
winds. When you reach the track that leads up onto the moor, turn right
to join Stone Road, then turn in either direction to return to the
village.
From the Stone footpath there are
panoramic views of the Cairngorms (An Carn Gorm -- the blue cairn) and
Braeriach (Am Braigh Riabhach -- the greyish-brown speckled slope)
summits to the east and the Monadhliath (Am Monadh Liath -- the grey
mountain range) to the north and west. These high tops are part of the
Grampian mountain range, by legend named after himself by the Roman
emperor Graupius, wrongly transcribed by a monk in the middle ages.
However, according to Professor Watson's "The Celtic Placenames of
Scotland" its origin is Celtic and refers to a single 'hill of the
hump'. For a century or more this area has been crofting land. The moor
is the common grazings for the crofter's sheep and cattle, with the
estate retaining the sporting rights. In older times there were turf and
stone croft houses and a mill, with corn and lime kilns. The remains of
these are still visible today. Relevant information can be found on the
plaque near the site. Passages with gates have been left between
sections of new planting, to allow the crofters to move livestock
between the upper and lower grazings. Those who are feeling energetic
can turn left at the moor path and follow it up past the now disused
water works to the remains of the Green Bothy and the Red Well. This is
described in Area Walk 6.
|
